Grosse Pointe man severely beaten after going wrong way on Detroit road

A new father from Grosse Pointe Park is undergoing surgery today after he said three men severely beat him while shouting racial epithets following a car accident on Detroit’s east side.

Nate Szczerbinski, who is white, told police that he inadvertently was driving in the wrong direction on Vernor Highway late Saturday afternoon when he was struck by a burgundy van. When the 34-year-old got out of his car, he said he was attacked by three black men.

For nearly 20 minutes, Szczerbinski said, he was spit on, punched, kicked and called racially offensive names.

One of the three suspects has been arrested as of Monday afternoon.

The attack comes two months after the severe beating of 54-year-old Steven Utash, who was attacked after accidentally hitting a boy with his truck.

Szczerbinski, a landscaper and 1999 graduate of Harper Woods Secondary School, has a 5-month-old daughter.

  Car accident, east side, Grosse pointe park, hate crime, police, race, racism, Steven Utash, vernor

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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